If the definition of an expert is someone who is from out-of-state then I must be an expert. I am from New Jersey and New Jersey is out of state in Minnesota. It is out of state. I'm here because of my association with legislators and legislators. I've been studying them and working with them as Don Mo said since 1966 and that's a long while that is strange behavior for a grown up.I have visited legislators and their natural habitats. I've listened to them speak their native tongues, and I've observed them practice their native rituals. I have come to like them. More important I have come to respect them to me here is to provide a summary and conclusions for Horizons to bring everything together and to not up every loose. And so to speak there's not a chance that I can do that it would be presumptuous to even try to summarize. The excellent presentation is made by such distinguished minnesotans these past few days. I know of no other state that does wood Minnesota does with its Horizons program not at all or not as intensely or not as well indeed. If nothing else Horizons already has two major accomplishments to its Credit First. It is gotten legislators to show up on time at 9 a.m. Which rarely happens in the state capitol building. It's an unparalleled achievement second. It is gotten experts and academicians like me to confine their remarks to 15-minute, which wild cruel and inhuman is still a substantial accomplishment. Experience for me. I've learned much about the fine and enduring qualities of this state as well as about its current and projected problems more important than my learning. However is the learning of members of the legislature Slater's of learned and learned much about problems and about possibilities in the areas of natural resources and the environment agriculture energy house and Human Services education fiscal Affairs and infrastructure. I have to admire Jim Kelly who spoke yesterday and use the word infrastructure 23 times without stumbling once I find it an awfully difficult word to handle and I suggest that the legislature ignore infrastructure problems until you are sure you can Master the word. Weather legislators agree with Jerry christensen's call for an overhaul of the homestead credit program or not. You must take it to heart his urging that this is a time for courageous action. These are a rather unusual words for legislative auditor to speak courageous action, but there is a rather unusual time here in Minnesota's history. If courageous action or even timid action is to be taken it will be up to the legislature to take it. The legislature is where it's at and where it will continue to be the question as was posed in an earlier session by Gerald Corrigan is does the legislature have the capacity the knowledge and the will the answer to that question is yes in the past 20 years. We in the United States and witness the development of modernization in the strengthening of State legislatures throughout the country more than any other political institution. The state legislature has made progress great progress. In part because legislators had a long distance to go minutes. In my opinion is one of the best in the country. I say that not because I like your brisk Winters. I say that because it is true anyone who pays attention to politics and government in the states and the state legislatures would have to agree thanks to the outstanding leadership of Martin Sabo and Nick Coleman and others all of you can be very proud to be in the Minnesota Legislature. If you was a 200-year history of legislators in general and given the recent improvements in the legislative institution, we might assume that the legislature will simply carry on I expect so but I'm not at all certain of what the future holds. I have no crystal ball. Anyway those who do use crystal balls generally wind up eating glass. I do know that the legislature is an institution cannot be taken for granted there for on the basis of my experience and especially from the perspective of Minnesota Horizons 1983. Permit me to offer several observations regarding the legislature in the first place the Minnesota Legislature, like all other legislators will have to make choices in the years ahead that is easily understood but it is difficult to put into Practice What You Slater's you like to say? Yes, you like to do good. You like to please everyone you like? Take on most everything legislators can't do that. You can't do that to say yes to everything is really to say yes to nothing to try to do everything is to do nothing. Well, you will have to say no to many things and more things now than before in order to say yes to a few things as has been pointed out throughout the sessions there are limits and you have less freedom and fruit fewer choices than your predecessors had the choices you do have and you will have to exercise choice and set priorities. You must decide between alternative policies and programs in a variety of Revenue measures. You must decide also where the legislature will focus its attention and where it will spend its time and where it will not spend its time. In the second place, Minnesota legislators, like other legislators will have to concern themselves with a Health and Welfare of their institution. Unfortunately, nobody else but its members will take care of and provide for the legislature you as legislators are responsible. Not only for policy-making not only for raising and appropriating funds not only for exercising oversight not only for providing service to constituents. You are also responsible for the maintenance of the legislature is an institution. The legislature is an institution its Health its maintenance is an end itself in deed of the state and its citizens going to be served. The institution must remain in good shape and the institution is in your hands today. The legislature is under heavy criticism and constant pressure. you as individuals may do very well in the Press you know how to handle the news and you know how to handle reporters but the legislature usually suffers abuse and for the most part and deserve it abuse legislators just do not look good for tickly in the eyes of the median legislators are not meat nor even very comprehensible they are untidy disorderly sometimes chaotic and always difficult to grasp that is the natural order of Representative assemblies that negotiate settlements and try to resolve disputes your business is not maintenance your business is settlements and looking after your institution do not be deceived by simplistic prescriptions for reform there are many of them I have been involved in proposing some of them Solutions in search of a problem prescriptions unconnected to diagnosis take the notion of smaller legislative body mount I always favored smaller legislative bodies because I thought it meant restricting membership to people under 5 foot 6 time for a little people Particularly people littler than I am Jess Unruh, who is the speaker of the California Assembly and it was now State Treasurer in California the father of legislative reform simile favored unicameral ISM, but just thought that unicameral is a mint one man when he found out it meant to single-chamber his enthusiasm Wayne. I am not in favor of the reduction in the size of the legislature as was suggested recently by Governor perpich large legislators are as good as and sometimes better than smaller ones 201 legislators aren't too many New Hampshire has twice as many in its house alone and a New Hampshire house works pretty well New Hampshire is a small state small of the Minnesota large legislative bodies are better organized as a rule take the United States Congress the house with 435 members runs far better than the Senate runs with a hundred members members of the House represent 30,000 people in members of the Senate represent 60,000 people the quality of representation might well diminish if they represented even more people the geographical size of legislative districts in Minnesota summer larger than the state of Rhode Island and a few I suspect approached the size of New Jersey. Who sing the size of the Minnesota house on the size of the Minnesota Senate yesterday the Minneapolis Star and Tribune editorialized if state government is going to trim its fat where better to start than at the Top If you do so you will lose some good legislators and not necessarily fat legislators with lien legislators as well. No legislature can afford to lose good members about it would be great or justification for reduction and sides if it was a sure instead it would get rid of the less confident members. But I am doubtful that we would all judge competence the same way and all agree who is less confident. Anyway, there are no guarantees as to who would stay and who would go of course, there's money to be saved. If you go from 134 to 100 hundred house members and from 67 to 50 Senators. Minnesota will save about 3 million dollars in 1983-85 Minnesota faces. I am told a 1250000000 dollar deficit in 1983-85. I am afraid that the governor and the legislature will have to look elsewhere to make up the additional 1247000000 dollars. If you want to improve the legislature in the legislative process, there are things to do certainly the Minnesota Legislature needs better management of its professional staff better use of information and more effective allocation of time to mention a few things. In the third place the Minnesota Legislature like others is in need of more continuity and greater cohesion, the legislature suffers from discontinuity and fragmentation, which is not surprising given the centrifugal forces in our society today. Themed comes through loud and clear from Horizons it is but just the opposite is required in order to respond to the challenges ahead and opening this program Rodger Moe indicated the need for planning and vision a comprehensive view of the issues an integrated approach and predictability or I'd language for a legislator on indeed. It suggests legislative planning a contradiction in terms. How can a legislature plan for legislature finds it difficult if not impossible to plan? That is partly because it is it constantly absorbing new members as a result of relatively High turnover every two years 30% or so in the house most recently. It is also because the legislature suffers from the limits of a two-year perspective and a biennial discontinuity of focus and effort legislators only plan from one election to the next in fact legislators only live from one election to the next every two years. The legislature comes to a halt as Representatives at least face the voters in primary and general elections yet public policy requires an effort that runs Beyond The Electoral cycle. Therefore, I would propose lengthening the Electoral cycle asking the electorate to amend the Constitution so that house members in Minnesota and elsewhere to would serve a four-year term. Instead of a two-year term. I am not worried about legislators losing touch will be coming non-responsive. That's not much of a chance. There's not much of a chance of that anymore with the openness of the process the visibility of the process the press the packs the pressures people will still be able to hold you accountable and they will hold you accountable. I commend you the example of the Maryland general assembly members of the House of delegates as well as in the Senate have four-year terms everyone including the governor lieutenant governor and attorney general runs at the same time once elected legislative leaders and members can think ahead at least a little bit and govern more effectively. I don't mean to underestimate the problems here a four-year term for house members is not likely to be popular not with the Press not with many people and possibly not with members of the Senate. But I believe it is a reform worth discussing and worth working for what may conclude the session in this discussion by saying the Minnesota legislators that you have a difficult job. I wouldn't want your job. Most normal people wouldn't want your job. But all of us can be thankful that some people you out there are not normal and are willing to take on the burdens and responsibilities on behalf of the rest of us you or in the front lines and I am way back in the rear and that is what representative democracy is about people like you representing people like me. There's a new book out megatrends. It is called it is by John Nesbitt a futurist. It is a trendy fashionable book and I commend it to all of you who get invited to trendy fashionable cocktail parties. Like I do constantly but identifies one as the movement from representative democracy to direct democracy according to him. We have outlived the historical used to usefulness of representative democracy. I think nice but is wrong. I hope maze but is wrong is wrong legislators and Minnesota and state legislators throughout the nation will have to be The ones to prove him wrong go to it. I have great confidence in you and I am sure that there are many people in Minnesota who share my feelings and wish you well. Thank you.